REPORT FROM THE CHAIR

Erhard F. Joeres (43K JPG)

It is with a sense of pride, some trepidation, but mostly hope and confidence that I embark on my term as chair of our department. Pride, because ours is one of the finest civil and environmental engineering departments in the country. Trepidation, because I am humbled by the collective talent of our outstanding faculty, and because I follow in the footsteps of an outstanding group of colleagues who have guided the fortunes of this department since I came to Wisconsin. I have fond memories of them all. And hope and confidence, because a talented, new generation of young colleagues gives me assurance that we will continue to be strong leaders in our changing profession.

When I joined the department, our chair was Arno Lenz, a hydrologist who was visionary in his approach of interdisciplinary water resources management and who presided over the department through the turbulent Vietnam protests and environmental awakening triggered by the first Earth Day. His successor, Jim Villemonte, was an outstanding hydraulics teacher to generations of students and whose research lives on in textbooks through the `Villemonte Formula for Submerged Weirs.' Next came our structures colleague Bill Saul who perfected the technique of staying calm under pressure. I remember his wordless poker-faced look that even today disarms faculty critics and airline clerks alike.

"... I follow in the footsteps of an outstanding group of colleagues who have guided the fortunes of this department since I came to Wisconsin. ... A talented, new generation of young colleagues gives me assurance that we will continue to be strong leaders in our changing profession."

Bill was succeeded by environmental engineer Larry Polkowski who exemplified the `Wisconsin Idea' ("the boundaries of the university are the boundaries of the state") through his many years of selfless leadership on the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage Commission, and whose dedication to our department lives on through the Polkowski fellowship endowed for graduate students in environmental engineering. His successor was fellow environmental engineer Bill Boyle who managed the affairs of the department while at the same time maintaining his leadership of a national research effort far longer than any of us thought possible. Bill, I am happy to report, still maintains an active connection to the department in retirement.

Next came the erstwhile surveyor turned land and geographic information system guru Jim Clapp. I know all will remember Jim for his commitment to students in and out of the classroom, if not for his banjo playing at student events.

An unflagging attention to detail, kindness and persistent attention to equity in relations with students and staff mark the tenure of hydraulics colleague Peter Monkmeyer. It is a hallmark I will aspire to. Although now retired, Peter participates actively in the department. As a mentor throughout my career, I am happy in the knowledge that I can continue to draw on his counsel.

I am also the beneficiary of much help and guidance from my immediate predecessor, transportation Professor Robert L. (Bob) Smith, Jr. Bob has presided over the evolution of our department to a new generation of outstanding young teachers and scholars that will continue to enhance our reputation. I am happy to report that Bob has the opportunity to expand on his own teaching, research, and Spanish language skills this coming spring through a sabbatical visit to the Universidad de Madrid in Spain. I am grateful for all of his help in making this transition.

New beginnings bring changes, and one of these is in the appearance of The Conduit. I hope you will like it. Please read on to learn of new colleagues in our midst, of exciting new research activity and of the achievements of our outstanding students. I hope you will share in our pride of the steel bridge and concrete canoe teams who, for the first time, won both events at the regional student ASCE competitions. Our student teams carried the Wisconsin spirit to a strong showing at the national competition in Alaska and Florida.